Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Staunton, July 11 – Moscow won’t be
able to use “the Russian speaking diaspora” in Estonia and other Baltic
countries as it did in the Donbass, however much propaganda it deploys against
such people because they know that they earn more, have more options and will
have better pensions in Estonia than in Russia, former Estonian President
Toomas Hendrik Ilves says.

Russian speakers in Estonia may
watch Russian TV, Ilves says, but “the incomes of residents of Estonia are ten
times those in Eastern Ukraine,” Estonia is a member of the EU and so its
residents can move about freely, and “the minimum pension” in Estonia exceeds
the average Russian’s pay and that makes all the difference (ru.krymr.com/a/28606488.html).

Some
Russian speakers in Estonia, the former Estonian president tells Krymr.com
journalist Kseniya Kirillova, may accept what they see on Russian television
because they “haven’t seen with their own eyes the conditions of the Russian
provinces” but “attempts to influence Estonian speakers haven’t been crowned
with great success.”

Consequently,
Ilves says, he “doesn’t think that Moscow will be able to use the
Russian-language diaspora in Estonia as it used them let us say in the Donbass.
The reason is simple: in addition to propaganda, it is important to consider
the material factor as well” because that drives people’s behavior.

“The
incomes of residents of Estonia can exceed by an order of magnitude the incomes
of residents of the eastern portion of Ukraine.Besides, Estonia is a member of the European Union, and therefore all
its citizens, including the Russian speakers, can travel throughout Europe
without a visa and earn money there.”

“More
than that, “the former president says, “the minimum pension of any grandmother
in Estonia exceeds the average pay in Russia, and therefore people simply do
not see any sense in uniting with Moscow.”

Ilves
also points to the importance of getting energy from sources other than Russia,
increasing defense spending, fighting Russian espionage – Estonia is the leader
in Europe in this regard –the presence in Estonia and other Baltic countries of
NATO forces and combatting Russian disinformation about Estonia.

President
Ilves doesn’t draw a broader conclusion, but the implications of his remarks
are that those who want to defend the countries of Eastern Europe from Russian
hybrid war should focus on improving the economic situation of these countries.
If they are more successful than Russia, that will do more to protect them from
Russian subversion than almost anything else.